-
01
As the Australasian Leisure Management Magazine reports, an incredible effort made by Aussie Ark, in partnership with the Global Wildlife Conservation and WildArk brought about the return of the Tasmanian devil back into the mainland of Australia. Actors Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky helped with the release of 11 devils into a wildlife sanctuary of nearly 1000 acres.
-
02
For a decade now, "the Aussie Ark team has been building an insurance population of Tasmanian devils and learning everything they can about the animals" to make their reintroduction into the mainland as smooth as possible. The reason that the devils vanished from mainland Australia was, for the most part, because of introduced dingoes which hunt in packs. On top of that, a deadly disease called Devil Facial Tumor Disease wiped out the vast majority of the devils in Tasmania as well. Only "25,000 devils are left in the wild of Tasmania today." With this reintroduction of the animal back into mainland Australia - one introduction out of a planned three - the devils will slowly return to thriving in its rightful place in the wild.
-
03
Tim Faulkner, the President of Aussie Ark, said: "[In] 100 years, we are going to be looking back at this day as the day that set in motion the ecological restoration of an entire country. Not only is this the reintroduction of one of Australia's beloved animals, but of an animal that will engineer the entire environment around it, restoring and rebalancing our forest ecology after centuries of devastation from introduced foxes and cats and other invasive predators. Because of this reintroduction and all of the hard work leading up to it, someday we will see Tasmanian devils living throughout the great eastern forests as they did 3,000 years ago."
-
04
Reintroducing the devils back into the mainland not only helps save them from extinction but will help the rest of the environment around them as well. Because they are native apex predators, they help control "feral cats and foxes that threaten other endangered and endemic species." And since they are scavengers, "they help keep their home clean and free of disease." So, despite their terrifying name, the news of their return truly couldn't be better.
-
05
We wish much luck to Aussie Ark and their partners as well as a safe reintroduction of the devil back into the wild and are thankful for their efforts. For more good news about animals, read about a three-day rescue mission of a cat stuck in a tree.
-
06
-
07
For a weekly dose of animal-themed community challenges - Subscribe to our Newsletter!
Can't get enough of ICanHasCheezburger? Find us on Instagram!